Peephole device



Dec. 15, 1942. w. FRANKEL 2,304,995

PEEP-HOLE DEVICE Filed April 6, 195a INVENTOR ML 4 MW FAfl/V/(EL W4 WZWATTORNEYS Patented Dec. 15, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 4 Claims.

The present invention relates to peep-hole devices or wickets adapted tobe applied to the entrance door to an apartment or dwelling and throughwhich visitors may be observed by the occupant of the apartment ordwelling before opening the door. Such devices constitute a safeguard,the use of which is, in most communities not only advised by lawenforcing agencies, but, particularly in metropolitan areas, required bybuilding ordinances. By means of such devices, a person presentinghimself for admission to an apartment or a dwelling may be identified bythe occupant of the apartment or dwelling, otherwise than by voice,before opening of the door to admit such person.

Devices of this general character of various types of construction areto be found on the market. Such devices generally comprise an assemblywhich includes an aperture and a closure device which may be moved froma position in which the closure covers the opening to a position inwhich the opening is uncovered.

The peep-hole device or wicket, constructed in accordance with myinvention, is of this general type but includes certain improvements inconstruction which makes it particularly valuable to carry out itsintended function with none of the disadvantages of the prior artstructures and with certain features, hereinafter to be described indetail, which render its operation facile and certain and makes possibleobservance of the caller or visitor by the occupant of the apartment ordwelling through the peep-hole without the caller or visitor bein awarethat he is being observed.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a peep-holedevice which is self-locking upon release of the open door memberconstituting one of the elements thereof and which door member cannot beopened or in any wise displaced from the outside of the apartment ordwelling. A further object of the invention is to provide a constructionof peep-hole device having a main and an auxiliary closure plate eachmovable to expose its aperture without moving the other, the relationsbeing such that each aperture can be fully exposed. Within the mainclosure plate there may be positioned an element constituting a mirror,the reflecting surface thereof facing outwardly of the door to which thepeep-hole device is applied, with a portion of the element constitutingthe mirror being unsilvered so that the occupant may peer through suchunsilvered part of the mirror element without being seen by the calleror visitor, the reflection from the silvered part of the mirrorpreventing the visitor. from noticing that he is being observed. Themirror element may be provided with a preferably cross-like clearportion in the form of narrow bands crossing each other at right angles,as I have found that such a narrow cross-like unsilvered area provides asufficient amount of transparency for the person peering outwardly frombehind the mirror to observe a visitor without such visitor being ableto see the occupant of the room or apartment, this fact being clearlydemonstrable, and as indicated hereinabove, due undoubtedly to thereflection from the silvered part of the mirror. Other forms of designfor the clear portion may be obviously used.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a type of lockingdevice for the door memher which, while readily permitting opening ofthe closure plate from the inside, locks such plate against openingpivotal movement as soon as even slight pressure is exerted against theplate from the outside of the door or the like.

Various other objects of the invention will appear from the followingmore detailed description of specific embodiments of my improved construction of peep-hole device, taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a view of my improved peep-holedevice as it appears from the interior of the apartment, the movableclosure member carrying the mirror device and protecting glass platebeing shown in its position in which it uncovers the observationaperture, in dotted lines; Fig. 2 is a section on theline 22 of Fig. 1,showing the peep-hole device with both of its movable closure members inposition covering the peep-hole; Fig.

,3 is a view, partly in section, showing the movable closure memberraised to a position from which it may be moved to the dotted lineposition thereof shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a plan view of a peep-holedevice embodying the same general construction of auxiliary movableclosure member or door, mirror and protecting glass plate, but showing adifferent type of mechanism by means of which the closure member may bemoved to a peep-hole uncovering position and to be again brought to theclosure position by gravity, i. e. a construction in which no initiallifting of the movable closure member is necessary for effecting itsmovement to the aperture uncovering position. Fig. 5 shows the device ofFig. 4 with the latch mechanism in released position permitting rotationof the closure member about its pivot; and Fig. 6 shows the same devicewith the movable closure member in its uppermost position, in which theaperture of the wicket is completely uncovered.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, in which similar referencecharacters identify similar parts in the several views, the peep-holedevice or door wicket forming the subject matter of the presentinvention, in the form thereof shown in Figs. 1-3, consists generally ofan inner assembly loand an outer member II which are provided withoppositely directed flanges l2 and I 3 adapted to line an opening M in adoor l5, in a manner well understood in the art. The member I! may be ofany suitable construction and forms no part of the present invention.

The inner assembly l consists of a base plate l6 which is preferably ofannular form and is integral with the flange I2. The base plate issecured to the outer member I by means of a plu rality of screws llpassing through suitable openings in the door and received withinthreaded openings in the member I l Other ways may, of course, beemployed for securing the parts I6 and VII to each other so as to clampthe door panel between them.

The base plate It is provided with a peripheral recess 8 to one side ofthe vertical line passing through the center of the device. A rivet i9is secured to the plate ii, the shank of the rivet between its head andthe plate l6 having been milled down, the portion of the rivet shankpassing through the plate l6 being of still further reducedcross-section so that a shoulder is provided which bears against thesurface of the plate I6. A movable closure member, designated as 2 0, ismounted by way of an inverted key-hole opening 2| upon the shoulder ofthe rivet l9. The purpose and operation of this mode of supporting themovable closure member upon the plate I6 is shown and described indetail in my co-pending application Ser, No. 122,980, filed January 29,1937, which has issued as Patent No. 2,124,525, dated July 26, 1938, towhich reference is made for further details of this portion of my novelpeep-hole device.

The movable closure member is provided, in accordance with my presentinvention, with a raised boss 22 at the upper center of which issupported, upon a rivet 23, a small circular door or auxiliary closuremember 24, such door pivoting about rivet 23 and having a finger piece25 for effecting rotation thereof about said pivot. It will be notedthat the boss 22 is raised a sumcient extent to enable the door 24 toclear the abutment constituted by the head of the rivet I9 above suchboss.

Positioned within the larger movable closure member 20, so as to abutthe inner peripheral edges of the boss 22 is a glass plate 26.Immediately adjacent such glass plate 26 is a second glass plate 29, thesurface of which adjacent the surface of the plate 26 is silveredthroughout, with the exception of a cross-like portion of the surfacewhich is left clear of silvering, such clear area forming two narrowbands 21 and 28 crossing at right angles to each other. The plate 26thus acts as a protecting plat for the mirror, the latter being ofsomewhat larger diameter than the plate 26 and being cemented to theinner peripheral edges of the closure member 210 or held in placetherein by a slip spring ring. In accordance with this construction, themirror 29 is positioned in the bore of the movable closure member oflarger diameter and the protecting glass plate 26 is positioned withinthe bore of smaller diameter.

The small door 24 may thus, by grasping the same by the finger piece 25and rotating it about the pivot constituted by rivet 23, be brought to aposition illustrated in Fig. 1 so as to uncover the peephole and enablethe occupant of the apartment or dwelling to observe, through theunsilvered cross-like part of the mirror, any person standing in frontof the door, without such person being aware of the fact that he isbeing observed.

. The movable closure member 20 is provided,

I upon its outer surface, with a lug or stop member 30 preferablyintegral therewith and shaped and positioned so as to enter the recess18 in the base plate I6 as the closure member is lowered into its closedposition as hereinafter described. This lug or stop member and therecess therefor are preferably substantially triangular in configurationbut are otherwise for substantially the same purpose and operate in thesame manner as the similar lug and recess disclosed and described in myco-pending application hereinabove referred to. The lug or stop member30 acts as a means of rendering the movable member self-closing as itfunctions to prevent the door of the device from opening to an extentgreater than that shown in Fig. 1, i. e., stops the door in an openposition in which its center of gravity is disposed to the right of thevertical center line of the wicket, or to the right of the vertical linepassing through the axis of the rivet l9, so that the door, uponrelease, may drop by gravity to the closure position.

The lug 30 may be so shaped as to prevent swinging movement of themember 20 when in its lower, closed position (the lug being moved out ofthe recess I8 when the member 20 is lifted on the rivet l9), but as faras this function is concerned the lug may be dispensed with,particularly in view of the fact that the present construction embodiesan additional form of looking means which, as hereinafter described,holds the movable member 20 against lateral movement in its closedposition. Other stop means may then be provided to limit the openingmovement of the member 20, that is, stop means which do not lock themember against lateral movement in its closed position.

For effecting the closure of the movable member 20, there is provided afinger piece 3i, secured to the closure member by rivet 32 extendingthereinto. The closure member is provided with a slot 33, the lowerportion of which is straddled by a strap 34. To one side of the slot 33upon the closure member is provided an abutment or stop lug 35.Extending from the plate l6 outwardly and then upwardly is a projection36 terminating in a hooked nose 3?.

In order to move the closure member so as to uncover the large apertureof the wicket, the finger piece 3| is grasped and the closure memberraised a suflicient extent to clear the hooked nose 3'! of theprojection 36, whereupon the closure member may be rotated about itspivot constituted of the rivet 9 to the position of such member shown indotted lines in Fig. 1. Upon release of the finger piece 3| the entireclosure member will drop by gravity until the lug 35 abuts the edge ofthe projection 36 whereupon the closure member will drop by gravity andbe Secured in closed position by the entrance of the oked nose 3'! intothe slot 33, having the hooked nose engage the strap 34 straddling suchslot.

It will be observed from Fig. 2 that the strap 34 is of lower heightthan the under edge of the hook portion 31 and also that the member 20is capable of a certain amount of rearward play on its fulcrum l9.Accordingly, if any attempt is made to open the wicket from outside thedoor, the slightest rearward pressure upon the mirror .29 will cause thestrap 34 to move beneath the hook 31. This makes it impossible to liftthe member 20 on its fulcrum sufficiently to enable it to clear thprojection 36. The wicket is thus proof against opening by p 'owlers andthe like. By reason of the fact that the mechanism 34, 31 is far removedfrom the fulcrum IS, the strap 34 travels through a relatively largedistance upon slight rearward angular movement of the member 20, so thatonly a very slight movement of, for example, the central portion of themember 20 is sufficient to bring the strap 34 directly beneath the hook31.

In the embodiment of my novel peep-hole device illustrated in Figs. 4-6,substantially the same general construction is employed with theexception that a different type of mechanism for effecting the closureof the movable member is used. In such embodiment, the closure member38, carrying the small door 24, is provided with an elongated peripheralslot 39, having a cam surface, to one side of which is provided thefinger piece 40. Upon the plate 4|, equivalent to the plate IS in theembodiment of Figs. 1-3, is mounted, by means of rivet 42, a latchmechanism 43 having a cam end 44 which is adapted to engage thecorrespondingly inclined cam surface 45 forming one end of the slot 39.In this embodiment of my invention, the plate 4| is provided with a lugor stop 46 which is adapted to enter into a slot 41, the lug thus actingas a stop for the door in its lowered position.

In opening the closure member of this embodiment of my invention, it isnot necessary to first lift the plate as in the embodiment of Figs. 1-3but the closure member may be opened by grasping the finger piece 40 andat the same time moving the handle portion of the latch 43 up- Wardly soas to have the nose 44 of the latch disengaged from the cam surface 45,the heel portion of the latch moving along the cam surface of thearcuate slot 39, as shown in Fig. 5. The door may then be swung to aposition uncovering the aperture as illustrated in Fig. 6. Upon releaseof the finger piece 40, the closure member will rotate about the pivot48 and drop by gravity to the closed position, the lug 46 acting as astop in its lowered position. The cam surfaces 44 and 45 are such as toinsure locking of the door, requiring the positive action of lifting thehandle of the latch in order to again open it modified type of movableclosure member and latch mechanism therefor, it is to be understood thatthe general construction of mirror and protecting glass plate shown asapplied to the embodiment of Figs. 1-3 is also applied to the embodimentof Figs. 4-6.

While I have shown and described particular embodiments of peep-holestructures embodying my improvements, it is obvious that various changestherein, particularly in the arrangement and configuration of theseveral parts thereof may be made without departing from my invention.Also, while I haveshown the mirror protecting plate 26 as constituted ofglass, it is obvious that any other transparent material may be usedtherefor.

I claim:

1. A peep-hol device for doors and the like comprising a base platehaving a peep-hole therein, a cover plate associated with the baseplate, a pin and vertical slot connection between the base and coverplates, whereby th cover plate may be moved vertically on the baseplate, a projection on the base plate approximately diametricallyopposite to the pin and slot connection, a recess in the cover plateadapted to receive the projection in the closed position of the coverplate, the engagement of the projection with the sides of the recesspreventing lateral movement of the cover plate.

2. A peep-hole device as set forth in claim 1, wherein the projection isprovided with a hook end spaced from the body of the base plate, thecover plate having an opening into which said hook end may be receivedand a strap below such opening adapted to move below the hook end to beengaged thereby upon slight rearward movement of the cover plate,whereby lifting of the cover plate on its fulcrum, and thereby openingof the cover plate from outside the door, are prevented.

3. A peep-hole device as set forth in claim 1, including an abutment onthe cover plate adapted to engage the projection to orient the recesstherewith as the cover plate is moved toward its closed position, thecover plate thereupon sliding vertically into its lower closed positionin which it is held against lateral movement by the projection.

4. In a peep-hole device for doors and the like having a base plate anda cover plate pivoted upon the base plate to one side of the verticalcenter line of the latter, mechanism for holding the cover plate againstopening from outside the door, said locking mechanism including atwoarmed lever, on of said arms constituting a handle, and the other ofsaid arms constituting a latch member, a recess in the cover plateadapted to receive the latch member and provided with an abuttingsurface engageable with the latch member to hold the cover plate againstmovement, said two-armed lever being rotatable to release the coverplate and being provided with a cam surface engageable by the coverplate as it moves toward closed position to swing the lever into coverplate locking position.

WILLIAM FRANKEL.

